Children and Childhood Studies Area, MAPACA 2017

Children and Childhood Studies (CCS) focuses on the societal, cultural, and political forces that shape the lives of children and the concept of childhood contemporaneously and throughout history. CCS research may originate in any discipline, including: the humanities, the behavioral and social sciences, or the hard sciences. We especially encourage multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research.

Papers for this area may examine, but are not limited to, the impact of popular culture on children and/or childhood, representations of children/childhood in popular culture, and the roles of children and youth as consumers or producers of popular culture. Paper and presentation topics should address the convergence of popular culture and American childhood in some regard. Single papers, panels, roundtables, and alternative formats are welcome.

Examples: -Representations of children/childhood in popular texts, images, or media -The relationships between children’s identities and popular culture (race, gender, disabilities, sexuality, ethnicity, class, etc.) -Historical contextualizations of children’s popular culture -Comparative studies of popular culture between America and other nations -Discussions of youth subcultures or youth agencies in relation to popular culture -Children’s digital lives and popular culture -Children’s health and popular culture -The commercialization of children’s popular culture -The role/use of children’s popular culture in education -Contested and conflicting values of childhood in popular culture -Institutional appropriations of children’s popular culture -Methodological challenges in studying children’s popular culture -Other

Proposals should take the form of 300-word abstracts (maximum), and may be submitted online at http://mapaca.net. The 27th Annual Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference will take place November 9-11, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA.